1953 - After 13 straight wins, the first place Dodgers finally lost‚ going down to birthday boy Murry Dickson and the last-place Pirates 7-1 at Forbes Field. Frank Thomas had a homer and four RBI in the victory.
1953 - The Pirates Ralph Kiner and the Yankees Allie Reynolds, the NL and AL player reps of the newly formed MLBPA, announced that they had hired New York Sports attorney J. Norman Lewis for $15,000 as an advisor after baseball had rejected their proposals for an increased minimum wage and greater pension contributions. Lewis wasn’t much help; the owners refused to meet with him.
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| Ralph was also a union rep - 1953 Redman |
1962 - Down 6-4 in the ninth against the Mets at the Polo Grounds, the Pirates loaded the bases with one out on an infield single (Bob Skinner’s 1,000th MLB rap) and two walks. Danny Murtaugh called on Jim Marshall to pinch hit. He hit a grounder to third, but Felix Mantilla’s throw to first was airmailed, allowing Skinner, Howie Goss and a sliding Roberto Clemente to score. The Bucs added another tally to win by an 8-6 count, New York’s 14th straight loss, giving Diomedes Olivo the win after a Roy Face save. The Mets finally got into the W column in the nightcap in equally dramatic style when Marvelous Marv Thorneberry, who had been coaching first (he was pulling double duty), came up to pinch hit with two outs in the ninth and belted an overworked Face’s fourth pitch into the right field upper deck to earn a 5-4 split for the Metropolitans.
1963 - Jerry Lynch set a MLB record for pinch-hit home runs when he hit his 15th to best George Crowe’s mark, a ninth-inning blast off Lindy McDaniel. He drilled a 3-1 fastball that gave the Pirates a 7-6 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Lynch retired in 1966 with 18 pinch-hit homers, the record until Cliff Johnson broke it in 1984. Matt Stairs now holds the MLB mark with 23.
1968 - The Bucs lit up the Reds at Forbes Field by a 19-1 count, banging out 23 hits. They were led by the top and bottom of the order - leadoff man Matty Alou and eight-hole hitter Gene Alley each had four hits; Roberto Clemente homered twice and Donn Clendenon once (he had five RBI). Steve Blass lasted for eight innings, with ElRoy Face sealing the deal in the ninth. Cincinnati didn’t leave empty-handed, though - Johnny Bench won a pre-game home run derby, netting $150 that was split among the three Redleg participants (the losing Bucs shared $100 among their trio).
1971 - Dock Ellis was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Sound Off.” That’s the year Ellis told the media that NL All-Star Team manager Sparky Anderson would "never start two brothers against each other" as Vida Blue was starting for the AL. Anderson surprised Ellis (or played into his hand) by naming him the starter. Dock was the losing pitcher in the game, giving up a titanic shot to Reggie Jackson.
1973 - IF Lou Collier was born in Chicago. He began his eight-year career as a Bucco in 1997-97, hitting .235 after being selected in the 31st round of the 1992 draft from Kishwaukee College. He spent two years in Korea after his MLB days and retired from baseball in 2007. He founded the Lou Collier Baseball Association, recruiting Chi-town kids out of rec center/little league teams and getting them some tournament prime-time to showcase their skills. He’s also an area scout for KC.
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| Lou Collier - 1998 Donruss Rated Rookie |
1976 - IF Ramon Vazquez was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico. He spent the final campaign of his nine-year career with Pittsburgh in 2009, hitting .230. Since retiring, he’s coached for San Diego and Houston, along with managing Santurce (Roberto Clemente’s old club) in the Puerto Rican League.
1977 - Rennie Stennett broke his right ankle sliding into second against the Giants at TRS and was lost for the year. Rennie never recovered fully, and his best BA after the accident was just .244. At the time, Stennett was the NL’s #2 hitter, batting .336 and fell 12 at-bats short of qualifying for the title, though his .336 BA would have been nosed out by the eventual winner, teammate Dave Parker, who hit .338. To rub some salt into the wound, the Bucs lost the game 5-4. The second baseman left the Pirates after the ‘79 campaign to join the Giants, inking a big 5-year deal, but was released after two seasons at age 31.
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